Coach Jurgen Klinsmann has the Americans headed in the right direction. (AP Images)

The U.S. men's national team's four-point haul from World Cup qualifying has resulted in a five-spot rise in the FIFA world rankings.

Jurgen Klinsmann's side improved from 33rd to 28th in the latest rankings, which were released on Thursday. A 1-0 win over Costa Rica in a Colorado blizzard and a historic scoreless draw against Mexico at Estadio Azteca sealed a successful month for the Americans, who won't return to action until the end of May.

Mexico remains the top-ranked side in CONCACAF, improving one place up to 14th after draws against Honduras and the USA. Panama, which currently tops the CONCACAF hexagonal after three games, is the third-ranked team in the region, coming in at 38th overall in the world.

There was little change atop the table, with Spain, Germany and Argentine holding onto the top three places, respectively. Croatia shot up five spots to No. 4 overall, with Portugal improving two places to No. 5. They are followed, respectively, by Colombia, England, Italy, Netherlands and Ecuador, which cracked the top 10 for the first time in its history.